


Stratagem (Banana Fish)

by happy_geese_only



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Ash Lynx Needs A Hug, BAMF Eiji, Dino Can Go Fuck Off, Don't worry he gets better though, Edgy Eiji, Eiji works for Yut Lung, Enemies With Benefits, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff, Gay, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Lot's of fluff, M/M, Okumura Eiji Needs a Hug, Shorter is a good boy, Slightly OOC characters, Unhealthy Relationships, Yut Lung's Bitchery, asheiji, fluff to counter my inner demise, fluff to counter the angst, no beta we die like men, sad backstories so beware, smut MAYBE, tbh everyone needs a hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-03
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2020-07-30 04:38:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20091406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/happy_geese_only/pseuds/happy_geese_only
Summary: It was as if all air had left Ash's body. He gasped and leaned forward as the boy rose gracefully over the wall. Each movement he made engraved itself into Ash's mind- Ash could feel the way the air blew past the boy's face, and the rush and the tingle of the cold New York wind in his raven hair. In that moment, all the dread and the loathing and the ever present weight of Dino's hands on his skin had left Ash, replaced by the cooling ease of nothingness. In that moment, Ash was someone else. He was free. The very essence of the boy's movement sent him flying through the milky way, where all he could see were stars and stars for miles around. This boy was pristine, he was elegant, he was..."Beautiful," Ash breathed.~In a crooked world full of strategies and lies, two broken criminals find comfort in the hearts of one another.(aka an enemies to lovers AU in which Eiji works under Yut Lung and Ash is a hardcore piner)





	1. saddest little baby in the club tonighttttttt

**Author's Note:**

> I always loved the idea of a badass Eiji- he has so much kindness in him, so he reacts in interesting ways to the less than kind world around him. He's still a cinnamon roll at heart, though!
> 
> [No, mom, this is not a stage of denial over Banana Fish's ending >:,) ]

Ash was told this mission would be an easy one. Well, at least as easy as taking another person’s life would be. 

He was informed that the target would be a middle-aged hipanic man, with brown hair and somewhat of a beard, donning a lab coat and a briefcase. The target would be wearing glasses, naturally, and Ash would find him in the Dead Rabbit Bar- alone and antsy, as most targets were. Dino had instructed Ash to steal the man’s briefcase without looking at its contents- after killing him, of course. Although the thought of murder brought forth a heavy, dreadful weight on Ash’s chest, he knew disobeying Dino would be suicide. And as much as he despised the man, Ash would not be adding his own life to the list of things Dino had stolen from him.  
Still… the heavy feeling remained, squirming around through his insides, whispering in his ears, calling him a terrible person for going through with this. For surviving this long. Ash grimaced, swallowing down the bile that grew in his throat. Oh well, Ash thought. It wasn’t his first time, and it surely would not be his last. 

There was just one, colossal issue: the target was supposed to be alone. Ash sunk further into his seat, a hard wooden chair at a table for two, which was located directly across from the bar where his target sat. His target, who was for some reason deep in conversation with some Japanese boy. Feeling a headache already forming between his temples, Ash glared at the boy through the tall, blue glass of whatever it was that he ordered- he was so absorbed in the mission that he had already forgotten. The boy sat facing away from Ash, fiddling with a lock of his fluffy raven hair with one hand, his slender frame leaning in slightly. He hadn’t seen the boy’s face yet, but judging by his accent and childlike wonder, he probably hadn’t been in New York for long. Suspicion crept through Ash’s mind: what was a tourist doing in a place like this?  
It didn’t matter. This was by no means Ash’s first rodeo, and unwanted company was not going to get in the way of his mission. Fierce jade eyes flickered to the target, who seemed just as Dino described, save for a slightly taller frame with broader shoulders.  
It seemed like an eternity had passed before the target finally stood, excusing himself to use the restroom. The Japanese boy smiled- at least, Ash assumed that he was smiling- and waved him off. Ash counted thirty seconds before standing up as well, following the man to the bathroom.  
Disarming the man was a walk in the park. He was washing his hands when Ash kicked him hard in the back of the head, using the shock of the blow to wrap his right arm around the man’s neck, shoving his head against the sink in somewhat of a headlock. The man struggled, but went limp as soon as he felt the cold barrel of a pistol against the side of his sweaty forehead.  
“The briefcase,” Ash hissed, “Hand it over.”  
“I-I don’t- it’s empty!” the man wailed. Ash threw him onto the ground, gun still aimed at his head. For someone carrying such valuable information, the guy really sucked at lying.  
“Bullshit.”  
“N-no, I swear, look!” The man grabbed at his briefcase, dropping it twice, and clumsily unclipped its fasteners. The grimy thing swung open, the lid falling to the ground. Sure enough, the case was empty.  
“Then where the hell-” Before Ash could finish his sentence, several shots rang out through the bathroom. A bullet blasted through his pistol, wrecking the weapon and rendering it useless. An inch higher, and it would have caused the gun to blow his hand off as well.  
Ash cursed. Dino hadn’t mentioned that the guy would have backup. He swung around wildly to meet his attacker, and cursed again. It was the damned Japanese boy after all! Face still concealed, the boy was now wearing a Kitsune mask, with curving, narrow eyes and plumes of red paint decorating the sides. The mask was intricately carved. However, his raven hair gave him away, all silky and fluffed up in random directions. He gripped his pistol tightly, aiming it at the ground. Ash found that odd: usually, the guns were aimed at his face.  
The boy shifted his attention to the target, who was staring at him intensely. The two seemed to exchange glances in some form of silent communication, and the silence that followed was stifling. Finally, the target closed his eyes and nodded, taking in a deep, shuddering breath. The boy responded by raising his pistol, hands shaking, and firing a bullet into the man’s head. He then turned, dropped his pistol, and ran.  
Ash’s head spun, but a single thought spurred him into motion: the Japanese boy, spy- whatever he was- had somehow managed to capture the contents of the briefcase. He stumbled forward, yanking the pistol off of the ground. It was empty. Sparing no hesitation, he threw the pistol aside and ran after the boy.  
Said boy blew past a waitress, actually managing a “sorry!” before knocking a table into the path behind him and flying out the door. Ash leapt over the table, spilling drinks everywhere, and followed hotly behind him.  
Flinging himself through the bar’s glass doors, a cold rush of air slammed into Ash, heightening his senses as the adrenaline swam through his body. It took him fifteen seconds to pick out the boy weaving through the crowd, ducking swiftly into an alleyway behind the bodega, where on Saturdays its elderly owner would blast opera from his stereo and hand out candy to children passing by. That alley, Ash recalled, was a dead end. He sprinted forward, throwing himself into the alleyway, forgetting to check for any traps or dangerous surprises that might await him. But to his surprise, there were none.  
Instead, he saw the boy working away at a pole attached to the fire escape. Ash let out a dry chuckle- he was familiar with using random objects to fight with, but a fire escape pole? That was a new low. He pulled a switchblade from his back pocket.  
“I’m giving you one chance: hand over whatever was in that case or I’ll kill you.” He growled, shifting into a guarded stance. The boy ignored him, yanking a few screws from the pole, taking great measures to keep the full length of it intact.  
Without another word, Ash lunged forward, knife readied. The boy blocked his hand with surprising strength, grabbing his arm and shifting it over his shoulder. In less than a second, the boy had thrown Ash over himself and onto the ground with a deadly amount of force, instantly knocking the air out of his lungs.  
“Stop it… there is no reason to go so far!” The boy gasped, yanking the pole free.  
Ash wheezed and rolled onto his stomach, looking up to catch another glance of the mysterious Japanese boy. Strangely, there was nothing threatening about his appearance. Something about this boy… it was different. He had some sort of aura around him, one that was warm. Comforting, almost. It made Ash want to open up to him, to keep him near. Blinking, he shoved those feelings down. He must have had a little too much to drink.  
“Speak for yourself,” he hissed, regaining his footing quickly and aiming a kick at the boy’s jugular. The boy blocked it with his left arm and stumbled backwards, unbalanced with the pole in tow. He was preparing to strike back when suddenly, he stopped in his tracks and for the first time stared directly at Ash. The wind ruffled through his hair as he stood, shaking a little, before rummaging through his left pocket and pulling out a crumpled stack of papers pinned together by a thick paperclip. He tossed the papers to Ash.  
Ash caught them, shock painting his sharp features. Why in the world would this boy just throw them away? He could see no benefit in the action on the boy’s end- he was practically signing his own death warrant. There was no way.  
“Wh-why?” He spluttered.  
The boy shrugged. “Your eyes. They’re like mine. You are Ash Lynx, right?”  
Ash gaped at him, wide-eyed.  
The boy sighed- a wistful, nostalgic sound. “My boss hates you. He’ll be very angry, but I’ll survive.”  
“N-no,” Ash spluttered, gaining his composure,”you won’t. You’ve seen my face, and you’ve seen those papers. You aren’t leaving this alley alive.” The hard glint returned to his eyes.  
“Ah,” said the Japanese boy, sounding almost sorrowful, “I thought you would say that.”  
He turned to face the wall, and paced a few steps backwards, raising the pole. Ash’s face paled once he realized what the boy planned to do. He raised his knife, and ran towards him.  
But the boy was agile. Ash watched helplessly as the boy ran forward, with trained, peppery, powerful steps, to lodge the pole into the ground. He was flung into the air almost instantaneously, eyeing the wall with a calculated glance behind his intricate mask. Then, he flew.  
It was as if all air had left Ash’s body. He gasped and leaned forward as the boy rose gracefully over the wall. Each movement he made engraved itself into Ash’s mind- Ash could feel the way the air blew past the boy’s face, and the rush and the tingle of the cold New York wind in his raven hair. In that moment, all the dread and the loathing and the ever present weight of Dino’s hands on his skin had left Ash, replaced by the cooling ease of nothingness. In that moment, Ash was someone else. He was free. The very essence of the boy’s movement sent him flying through the milky way, where all he could see were stars and stars for miles around. This boy was pristine, he was elegant, he was…

“Beautiful,” Ash breathed. 

He heard the dull fwoomp of feet landing on the dirt behind the wall, accompanied by the heavy breathing of an athlete finishing up his routine. Then, the sound of footsteps began, and against his better judgement, Ash called out to the boy.  
“Wait!”  
The footsteps paused.  
Ash took a deep breath in. “Tell me your name!”  
The boy was quiet.  
“You know mine! It’s only fair!” That was a useless argument, and Ash knew it. Nothing in this cruel world was fair. The boy didn’t owe him anything, and it was a bloody miracle that he was leaving without a fight in the first place.  
There was a tentative silence, but then…  
“Eiji Okumura.” The boy’s voice was airy and light, “But it will not be of any use to you.”  
And with that, the footsteps continued until they faded away, leaving Ash alone in the alleyway as the dawn rose behind him.


	2. silly, silly rabbit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eiji faces what he knew was coming, and Shorter is just a little more confused than usual.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My wife took the ps4 in our divorce... New phone, who dis???

Making an effort to keep his steps as light as possible, Eiji crept tentatively through the doorway, holding onto the tall, expensive-looking rosewood door until it shut quietly behind him. He wrinkled his nose at the sour scent of alcohol that lay heavily throughout the room, eyeing the empty bottles that were scattered around carelessly on the ground. For the umpteenth time since he had encountered Ash, Eiji mentally rehearsed what he would say once he came face to face with his boss. Handling this was going to be very difficult, but he wouldn’t waste any thought on regrets- no, he would need to use all of his focus on the situation at hand. 

Even so, he couldn’t help but let his mind wander towards his encounter with the golden-haired boy. 

His mission hadn’t been too difficult: just the usual theft of information. Eiji possessed an unusual talent when it came to interacting with his foes, and more often than not, he was able to talk his way through people while being as genuine and sincere as possible. Yut Lung called it manipulation and even seduction, but Eiji knew those words were poisonous. He called it being friendly and decent instead. 

This target, in particular, was an enigma. The man instantly opened up to Eiji, revealing his woes over the arrest of his son, and the stress that his wife was ever so desperately trying to hide from him. Eiji listened as the man admitted the guilt he felt over the effect that his less-than-desirable job had on his son, openly confessing to his creation of illegal drugs for shady tycoons across the country. Then, the man told Eiji that he seriously considered leaving this world for good. As the stranger’s story unfurled, Eiji laughed with the man, cried with the man, and eventually, when he revealed his position to him, suffocated in his own guilt as the man willfully offered his briefcase to him.

He didn’t want the man to die. But as he stood there, gun in hand, watching as the man kneeled behind Ash in that cursed bathroom, he had seen the look in the man’s eyes. The man had resigned himself to a fate worse than death, and in his eyes, he silently pleaded for it all to just be _over_.

So he ended it. And then, like the coward he was, he ran.

When Ash had finally caught up to him, it was far too late.   
  


No matter how much Eiji sympathized with him, he never would have even _thought_ about throwing away his mission for Ash’s sake. Not when there was so much at stake for him, for Yuko… Yet something was blazing in those forlorn eyes that Eiji had never seen before, a hardened intensity unique only to the brazened warriors of his mother’s fairytales. It was something that Eiji could hold onto, something that could keep him latched to this ugly planet he so desperately fought to stand on. Whatever he saw in those eyes had brought him hope, and Eiji was willing to face his boss a million times over rather than snuff it out. 

Now, despite himself, the ghost of a smile began to creep up the creases of his lips as he stared, unseeing into the expensive wallpaper in front of him. In a split second, that smile was suffocated again, instead replaced by a wince as a poisonous voice erupted from across the room.

_“My God, I’m at my limit! How long do you plan on standing in the doorway!?”_

Eiji’s spine went rigid, and icy claws gripped his shoulder blades mercilessly. Taking in a long, shuddering, breath, he willed himself to breathe. 

“I’m sorry, Yue, I was-”

“Don’t call me that!” In the center of the room, a young man only slightly older than Eiji was draped leisurely on the velvet sofa, another bottle of alcohol in one hand. His skin was unnaturally pale, and his dark, silky hair fell past his waist in a mess of disturbed strands. “Seriously, you look like an idiot deer about to be mowed by a truck!” 

Eiji paused, choosing his next words very carefully. Yut Lung was flippant enough without the influence of alcohol, and somehow Eiji’s presence only managed to aggravate him further. Sometimes, he wondered why Yut Lung even bothered enlisting him in the first place. 

“I’ve come to give you my report on the latest _errand_,” he finally said, dread pooling in his chest.   


“Yes, I’m quite curious about that. Usually, you’d have the papers on the table in front of me by now.” His voice dripped with poison.

“_Unfortunately…_” Eiji took in another deep breath, “I was intercepted by one of Golzine’s men. The target was killed, and he made off with the papers.” 

There was a torturous silence. The air was made of sharp needles, and every inhale sent shivery metal into his lungs. After what felt like forever, Yut Lung stood and turned to Eiji. His features were alarmingly calm. 

_“I see…”_

Eiji began, “I-”

“It is only to be expected, of course. That pig has aces up his disgusting little sleeves. You couldn’t help but be outmaneuvered.” 

Millions of red flags lit up at once. Although his face remained painted in that same, stoic expression, Eiji’s mind screamed with alarm, fingernails of dread piercing through his insides and twisting inside of him. This was bad, bad, bad, _bad, bad, bad, bad. _

Yut Lung took a step towards him, and it took all of Eiji’s willpower not to take a step back.

“What, you don’t believe me? You don’t think I’m capable of mercy? You think I’m a _snake_ like my brothers are?”

_Yes_. “No, I-”

_“Because you’re damn right!”_ he shrieked.

Eiji ducked as a glass bottle went sailing past his head, the shrill of shattering glass cascading over him as jagged shards flew around the room. Bits and pieces of broken glass sliced at his face and his harms. Drenched in the splattered alcohol, he stood up quickly, only to come crashing to the ground as a harsh blow collided with his right cheek. 

“YOU USELESS PIECE OF ABSOLUTE _SHIT!_ YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I NEEDED THAT INFORMATION!” Yut Lung screamed, his hair cascading over his shoulders, disheveled, distraught. Eiji sat up and was struck across his face for the second time. 

He grabbed Eiji by his collar, shaking him violently back and forth. _“HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO OUT HUA LUNG NOW? ARE YOU TRYING TO GET ME KILLED?”_

Eiji’s mind drifted, and for a moment he wondered how Yuko was faring. She must have been miserable, trapped in that safehouse all by herself. No matter how many private tutors he sent her way, they probably fell far short of curing her loneliness. She must have hated him, her pathetic older brother who couldn’t even protect her properly…

No, he thought to himself, as another harsh slap sent him buckling to the ground, his younger sister was far too saintly to ever harbor feelings of hatred towards anyone. She was most likely sitting at her desk now, folding paper cranes and praying for his safe return. Really, it was a shame that she had to be stuck with him. Eiji had no idea what kind of crazy feats he must have achieved in his past life to have been blessed with a sister like her. 

Yut Lung coughed and sobbed, then stood and dragged himself back to the sofa. “Get the hell out,” he hissed.

Eiji wanted to sob, too. He wanted to scream and wail and throw his limbs all over the place like a broken doll collapsing under Atlas’s weight. He wanted to let the world know that it wasn't fair, it wasn't fair, _it wasn't fair, **it wasn't fair!**_ But he couldn’t… He had to _endure_. Slowly, Eiji stood, collecting himself, and turned to leave. However, as he passed lightly through the doorway, Yut Lung’s sharp voice stopped him again.

“If you fail me again, I won’t have any use for you. And if that happens, I will have no use for that pathetic little girl either.” 

Eiji shivered, holding his tongue. “I understand.”

~

Shorter shook his head, bemused, as he wiped down another table at Chang Dai. The night had been _wild_\- that is, more than usual. After herding out a crowd of unruly kids looking to join the Chinese mafia, he was chewed out by Nadia for screwing up nearly every dish on the menu, then was saved by one of the newer chefs who had actually managed to set the kitchen on _fire_. Fifty minutes and three fire extinguishers later, he was met by a very bewildered and frustrated Ash Lynx, who immediately began dumping onto him this story about some Japanese kid who had simultaneously solved and ruined one of his jobs. Like, what the _hell_? He didn’t even greet him first. 

Shorter wasn’t focusing enough to catch the kid’s name, but his best friend seemed absolutely _infatuated_ with the guy. So much so that Shorter wondered about him as he completed his slave driver of a sister’s chores. If he was being honest, the kid was probably dead by now. No one who defied orders like that survived for very long.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when the soft tinkle of bells announced that someone had entered the restaurant. Without looking up, he droned, “Sorry, we’re closed.”

A soft, warm, and very familiar voice replied, “Can’t you make an exception?”

Shorter whipped his head up to see another one of his close friends standing just in front of the door, happiness and excitement jolting through his bones. However, most of that joy quickly left him once he saw the state he was in.

“Eiji, buddy, you look like _shit!_”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2.) I'm soRRY
> 
> 2.) Ash comes back in the next chapter
> 
> 8.) hELLO, HTML!
> 
> 3.) I ran this through grammarly once


	3. bars are not fun :(

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY Y'ALL;;;;;;;; I feel like a deadbeat dad to this fic... but don't worry! daddy's coming home!

Eiji inhaled sharply as another shard of glass was yanked from his shoulder, feeling the slimy warmth of blood seeping from the wound. Shorter gave him a worried look, discarding the shard and wiping down his bloodied tweezers, but Eiji only waved him off with a tilt of his hand. The two were stationed at a booth near the back of the restaurant, the squishy cotton seats cluttered with band-aid shells and red-stained paper towels. Usually, such personal matters would be reserved for the apartment upstairs, but Shorter had been worried and frantic when he saw Eiji’s battered state, and had rushed him to the nearest table.

“Sorry for bothering you so late at night…” Eiji sniffed, eyeing the ground. 

“Don’t sweat it,” Shorter grinned, “I could use some extra first aid practice, anyways.”

Eiji wheezed, bristling, as heavy hands rubbed over another bandage, roughly securing the sticky adhesive onto his irritated skin, “I suppose you could.” 

“Rude,” Shorter scoffed, mocking offense. “I take it back, I’m charging you five bucks for this.”   
“Oh, heavens, not my weed money-”

He honked at this, resisting the urge to clap his injured friend over the head. “You tard, I’m taking all of it.” 

Although Shorter bickered relentlessly, he was secretly grateful for the light conversation. He was glad that the humor had cleared the tension pervading the room, for the strain of his Eiji’s smile did not go unnoticed by him. Shorter never knew what to say in these kinds of situations, could never fathom what thoughts might be swirling around in his friend’s mind, so instead, he joked around shamelessly, praying that the empty humor would fill any bullet holes that might be gaping inside of him. If Eiji ever noticed his blunder, he said nothing about it.   
Speaking of Eiji, the poor guy looked like he would jump out of his skin at any moment. He was frighteningly pale, skin pulled taut by goosebumps and trembling with shivers. His fingers were tapping frantically at his knees, his eyes darting towards the door every now and then, as if he expected someone to burst through and fire at them until they resembled swiss cheese.   
“Hey, uh,” Shorter coughed, and those frantic eyes swam immediately up towards him, “I’m closing up the shop pretty soon, and was planning on going to the bar to meet a friend later. You wanna’ come with? You… you look like you could use a drink.”   
Eiji stared at him for a few seconds, before tilting his head back, and there it was. That million-dollar smile of his, the one that rose from the corners of his mouth to crease his eyes and made it look as if he was just some normal high school student, whose biggest worries revolved around grades and friend groups and what he was going to wear tomorrow.   
“Yeah, I probably could.”

~🍌🐠~

The bar’s nightly affairs were running at full swing by the time Eiji and Shorter arrived; Eiji, of course, stepping closely behind the latter as if he would be swallowed whole by the sea of bodies if he strayed too far. Older vagabonds occupied many of the tables, gambling and drinking in an appallingly casual manner, while other, surprisingly young-looking attendees ran amok laughing loudly at nothing in particular. Eiji’s nose crinkled almost unconsciously; although he usually knew and quietly loathed this flavor of atmosphere, there was something different here- warmer, pulsing, and the unfamiliarity of it scared him. There was a gang occupying the establishment that night, he could see it in the subtle tension of the people’s shoulders, the lethal glimmer of light catching on the metal of guns and switchblades tucked away in their pockets and tennis shoes. It was a good thing, he thought to himself, that he couldn’t spot any of Yut Lung’s adversaries. That would not have been a pretty scene.

Still… His mind couldn’t help but drift to his encounter from a few nights ago. That man- Ash Lynx- why did he sacrifice his mission for him? Eiji knew he recognized the sorrow behind those emerald eyes, oh, he knew too well, but was that slight rush of empathy really worth jeopardizing his standing with Yut Lung? Jeopardizing both his and his sister’s safety? Ash Lynx would most certainly not have done the same for him, so why? There must have been something fundamentally wrong with him, Eiji decided. 

He suddenly felt sick. The crowd of partygoers loomed around him, eyes like needles against his body. What would happen to him now? He knew Yut Lung had already despised him before he messed up, perhaps this incident had given him incentive to permanently deal with the source of his vexation. Would he send Eiji on a suicide mission? Loosen Yuko’s protections? Or… would he make him do that work again? Bile rose in Eiji’s throat, a sudden, suffocating sense of claustrophobia closing over him. He willed himself not to hyperventilate, realizing that coming here had been a terrible, terrible idea. 

“Sh-shorter,” he croaked, hating how his voice trembled, “I can’t- we have to-” 

He cut himself off. In the space where Shorter had once been, there was now an inebriated young woman. Heartbeat accelerating, Eiji looked around the room, his head turning in jerky movements as he searched desperately for a hint of that purple mohawk within the crowd. He found none. His chest clamped painfully, his mind racing. 

‘Don’t freak out, stop freaking out. You’re a grown man’- he was seventeen- ‘this shouldn’t be as bad as it is. You’ve killed people before- you’ve- stop breathing so fast- you’ve-’

“Wow, are you a foreigner?” 

Eiji felt a tug at his jeans, and he glanced down at the source of that question. A young boy stood below him, he couldn’t have been older than twelve. The warm yellow light of the bar’s overhead lights gave his dark skin an almost angelic glow, which contrasted with the haphazard, mischievous grin slanted across his face. Eiji blinked for a moment, his heart still pumping at an unhealthy pace, before realizing that the boy was waiting for an answer. 

“I’m, um, Japanese?” he tried. The boy’s grin widened. 

“That’s so awesome!” the boy laughed, grabbing Eiji’s hand and dragging him towards one of the tables. “Have you ever been to a cat cafe? Did the cats make it dirty or was it clean?”

Eiji followed behind him, confused, “I don’t know… I haven’t been.”

“Aw, bummer. The name’s Skipper, by the way. You looked like you could use some company, so you can hang with me and my friends for the night!”

‘Skipper’ smiled brightly, gesturing towards a table where two other men sat- men, or large teenagers, Eiji really couldn’t tell. 

“Oh, no, that’s okay”, he began, “I was actually about to-”

“Kong! Bones!” the boy shouted, ignoring his pleas, “We got new meat!”

The two men, who had been previously arguing with each other on what appeared to be a drawn-out hot take, both glanced up at him in sync. They offered Eiji a smile. 

“This isn’t exactly an adoption agency,” the shorter of the two raised an eyebrow.

“Aw nuts, Bones, he looks fun.” The other clapped his companion on the back. So he was ‘Kong,’ Eiji presumed. 

“You know how to play BS, what’s-your-name?” Skipper grinned at him, pulling a deck of cards from one of his baggy pockets.

“Ah, my name is Eiji. I-” Eiji slapped himself internally. Why the hell did he tell them his actual name? “-I can play.” 

A few hours and several drinks- to Eji’s petulant dismay- later, the four sat around the table, concluding what had to be their fiftieth round of the card game. Bones threw down his cards.

“G’damnit Eijiiii, why’s your poker face so good?” he whined, completely wasted. 

“He’s not even that good, you’re just dumb,” Skip cackled, causing Kong to burst out into laughter. 

“You lost too, though?” Eiji mused, surprised at himself almost immediately after the words left his mouth. The alcohol must have done wonders to his nerves. 

Skip gasped, in dramatic betrayal. “I defend your honor and this is how you repay me?”

Eiji grinned sheepishly as Kong convulsed in peals of laughter. The man sure was a giggly drunk. 

Suddenly, Skipper’s expression of fraudulent grief transformed into one of friendly recognition as he glanced behind Eiji.

“Boss! Shorter! You’ll never guess who we brought to the table!”

This kid knew Shorter? Eiji turned around, some of the tension in his chest releasing at the prospect of being reunited with his friend. 

“Shorter? Where’d you go-” his voice cut off, the tension returning tenfold. Beside Shorter, who was grinning idiotically albeit apologetically, stood Ash Lynx. The blonde’s eyes widened in shock and recognition once he spotted him, then narrowed, and he spared no time in lunging towards Eiji, his leg already swinging forward in a roundhouse kick. 

But even while tipsy, Eiji was still agile. He ducked down to the ground, springing up once Ash landed on the table, knocking over drinks and sending Skipper and company stumbling backwards. Despite missing his target, Ash still maneuvered and kept his balance, standing on top of the table and turning again towards Eiji, who had pulled out the set of throwing knives he kept hidden in his sleeves. For one tense, interminable moment, the two just stared at each other, feral eyes glaring daggers at softened ones beneath furrowed brows. 

“What the fuck was even that-” Shorter began, but he was quickly cut off by a loud crashing sound as one of the bar’s back doors was slammed violently open. Thugs, from a rivaling gang most likely, began pouring rapidly into the room, smashing lead pipes and baseball bats against the people and furniture in their way. Ash swore and yanked out the gun that was ever-so surreptitiously hanging from his belt straps, firing at the intruders. Eiji wanted to curse as well- he’d dropped his pistol in the bathroom after killing that doctor and hadn’t bothered to replace it. 

He knew he could make do with his knives, but then again, this wasn’t his fight, right? Leaving amongst the chaos would be the most logical option- he just had to bring Shorter, and- fuck it- Skipper and company out with him.

Eyes darting towards the wrecked table they had once sat at, Eiji spotted Skipper beneath it, fiddling with a revolver, while Kong and Bones had already rushed into the fray. Stupid idiots. But maybe they could manage themselves, they did look quite strong. Eiji turned his attention to Shorter, who was in the process of decking an overweight man clutching onto a baseball bat. There was another man creeping up behind him, knife raised, and Eiji surged forwards, snatching the man’s hand and jerking it outwards, twisting the man’s entire body back as his wrist gave a sickening crack. He dropped to the ground, writhing, and Eiji ran to Shorter, who had already moved on to another target.

Eiji grabbed his shoulder, “Shorter, come on, we gotta go!” 

Shorter glanced back at him, an unreadable expression adorning his usually cheerful face.   
“There’s some business here I’ve gotta handle first, go and I’ll meet you outside.”

Eiji frowned, his eyes gleaming with a rising sense of desperation, but he nodded anyway. 

“Fine, just don’t catch any murder cases.”

Shorter grinned, then turned to slam his elbow against another man’s face. Eiji turned and ran to find Skipper, who was lowering himself into a grate behind the barstools. The boy was oblivious to three of the rivaling gang’s men, who were watching him intently and began to let themselves out through the backdoor as he descended. It was a trap. 

Eiji swore and ran towards them, only to be intercepted by a punch in the gut. One of those god-awful men smirked as he drew in his fist for another go, murmuring something like ‘pretty little twink,’ but he never got the chance, as Eiji yanked him by the shirt and used the momentum to flip the man over his shoulders and onto the ground. God, he was losing time. He hurled himself out through the door, only to be met with the heart-shattering sight of a black automobile whizzing past, with Skipper’s frightened face peeking from the rear window. 

Eiji nearly wailed in anger and desperation, then turned to one of the haphazardly parked vans in the bar’s parking lot, a new plan forming inside of his head.

~🍌🐠~

Ash swore loudly as he used the back of his heel to shove another man onto the ground, the men tailing Skipper not going unnoticed in his peripheral vision. He had to get out there before they did but- fuck- there was just one body after the other! Everywhere he went there were at least five men trying to bash his head in, he couldn’t find an opening anywhere. Time seemed to go on endlessly as Ash grew in desperation, until he finally, finally, blasted a hole through the head of the last man blocking his path and raced outside.  
But, dammit they were already gone! Neither the men nor Skipper were anywhere in sight, although Ash spotted a black car zooming off further up the street and he had a pretty good idea of where they were headed. He raised his gun to fire at the car, only to be intercepted off by another group of Arthur’s thugs. Cursing his luck, Ash readied himself, leaning into a crouch as they closed in around him when suddenly-

SPLAT!

Where the men had once been, there was now a bulky white van with blood and chunks splattered across its front and windshield. Ash gaped as the window rolled down to reveal the Japanese boy- Eiji, his eyes manic. 

“IknowwejusttriedtokilleachotherbuttheygotSkipperand-” Eiji gasped, but Ash had already swung open the door and thrown himself into the backseat. 

The ride was tense- Eiji was egregiously violating the speed limit as he tried to keep the black car within his field of vision, and his hairs were raised at the back of his neck as he felt Ash’s piercing gaze from behind him. 

“Stop that,” Ash hissed after he whipped past a particularly jarring curve, “I already know where they’re going!”

“Okay, then tell me where to go,” Eiji’s mouth was pressed into a firm line. He didn’t slow down. 

They wound up in an abandoned parking lot behind an old factory warehouse. Ash led the way, putting a single finger in front of his lips and staring at Eiji pointedly. Eiji pouted; he obviously knew that they were supposed to be quiet. 

They stalked through the wide corridor of rusted metal and dirt, when suddenly, Ash stopped in his tracks. Eiji squinted ahead to see a man with spiky blonde hair make his way out of the shadows. 

“Boss,” the man leered, acknowledging Ash, then let his eyes fall towards Eiji, “...and you’re Yut Lung’s bitch, aren’t you?”   
Eiji bristled, silently deciding that the man had a very ugly face. The man smirked.

“You realize this is a trap, right?”

~🍌🐠~

Eiji ran. With one hand clutching tightly onto Skipper’s and the other gripping a pistol he had lifted from one of the fat man- Marvin’s- goons, he willed his legs to keep moving. Ash was clearing the path ahead of them, and Eiji pretended that he couldn’t hear the telltale splat and thud of their enemies hitting the ground. The past six hours or so had been intense: after they were apprehended and reunited with Skipper, they were thrown into a makeshift cell until Ash managed to seduce and knock out the man responsible for the attack- Marvin Crosby. From that point on, they had been playing a lethal and exhausting game of cat and mouse; they’d fight here, hide there, get discovered, and fight again.

He’d been through worse, but even so, he couldn’t last forever. And Skip definitely could not continue at the pace they were going. At this point, they would need a miracle. 

They had nearly reached the open street at the end of the warehouse corridor when they found themselves cornered again. Eiji looked to Ash, fleetingly hoping that he would procure some masterful plan or unlock another chamber of adrenaline that would help them come out of this alive, but Ash only glared forward, his eyes taking on an almost feral gleam. Of course.

Eiji raised his pistol, clutching Skip close to him, when suddenly shots rang out throughout the corridor. He glanced upwards towards the storage containers, where -thank Jesus- Shorter and Ash’s men were running in their direction. 

“Fucking bastards!” Shorter yelled, quite eloquently, as they descended and erupted into chaos. 

Eiji took this opportunity to begin taking out the people surrounding them. He hated using guns, but resentfully admitted that they were useful in situations like these. Still holding tightly onto Skipper, Eiji fired until the pistol was out of bullets. Spotting a revolver on the ground, he dove to grab it, only to be stopped midway, a sharp pain erupting against his scalp. His head was yanked backward to face the ugly blonde man- Arthur, he recalled-, who had his fist curled around in Eiji’s hair. Arthur opened his mouth to speak, most likely about to say something obscene and rude, but Eiji didn’t give him the chance to, instead opting to sock him in the jaw. 

Arthur stumbled backward, cursing violently. 

“You fucking whore!” he screamed, charging at him with what appeared to be a switchblade. Eiji dropped to the ground, attempting to sweep Arthur’s feet from underneath him as he threw himself forward, but Arthur was faster than he looked and managed to get one of his feet out of the way, stumbling slightly and using the momentum to slam his foot harshly against Eiji’s face.   
Eiji’s brain rocked in his skull as his head was thrown backward, jerking against his neck as he braced his elbows against the ground. He tasted blood, but was up before Arthur could dish out another kick. He blocked another one of Arthur’s slashes and moved between his arms, raising his own arm to elbow the man in the throat, when he heard a sharp scream coming from the street. He turned his head to see Skipper fall to the ground in front of a devastated looking Ash and felt the blood drain from his body. Skipper was-  
Searing pain flared against the back of his already aching head, and Eiji’s world went black.

~🍌🐠~

The world came back to him in fuzzy shapes and silhouettes, and someone was guiding him upwards, pressing cold metal onto his wrists. That woke him up. He was leaning against a police car in the street beside the warehouse, cuffed, as officers stood nearby speaking with the paramedics. Ignoring the way his neck screamed in protest, Eiji turned his head to look around. Ash was nowhere to be found, anyone else who was able to had run, and Skipper… He hadn’t moved from where he had fallen. Eiji leaned back to close his eyes, squeezing them hard to hold back the scalding hot tears threatening to escape.

He stayed that way until the officers came to lift him up again, leading him to a different vehicle. He looked beyond them to see that a few journalists from the press had already arrived, interviewing some random bystanders who had happened to witness the mess. One of the journalists was a middle-aged Japanese man with wrinkles behind his eyes and modest facial hair. He looked so… familiar, and Eiji once again became so lost in his thoughts that he was genuinely startled when the man-made eye contact with him. The man didn't look any better off- as soon as he saw his face, the man’s expression morphed into one of shock, then sorrow. He dropped his notepad.

“Eiji?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M BACK BITCHESSSSSS
> 
> 1.) I kept on rewriting and deleting this chapter over the span of a few months haha so quirky  
2.) eiji committing vehicular manslaughter is my one and only headcanon  
4.) ooh wow such a mysterious ending I wonder how many middle-aged japanese journalists there are in banana fish huehuehue  
7.) am I ever going to come up with serious titles? only God knows

**Author's Note:**

> hihi y'all, it's me again...
> 
> banana fish has left me sad and despondent, so let's accentuate the pain with an angsty-ish fanfic like the crackheads we are!
> 
> angst won't be too heavy though, as I'm not a masochist and prefer a happy ending.
> 
> this is my first real fanfiction, so all commentary is highly encouraged! go wild, y'all, I gotta learn sum' from it.
> 
> I'll try to update every week or two, so stay tuned!
> 
> obama out~


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